Arab News | Cuba hit with seventh major blackout of the year

HAVANA: Cuba was plunged into its seventh massive blackout of the year on Friday, the energy ministry said, as fuel shortages bite on the US-blockaded island.

“A total disconnection of the electrical system has occurred,” the ministry wrote on X, without specifying the cause.

The island of 9.4 million people endures constant power cuts due to the poor state of its aging thermoelectric plants.

But the situation has worsened significantly since January, when Washington imposed a de facto energy blockade on the island in a bid to pressure Havana’s communist government.

A severe lack of fuel makes it difficult to supply Cuba’s power plants and backup generators, which typically run on imported diesel.

In recent weeks, blackouts have lasted for more than 30 hours in the capital, while in outlying provinces, they have sometimes stretched past 60 hours.

The cuts have also affected the island’s water supply and mobile phone network.

Havana blames punitive US measures for its unreliable power grid, while Washington puts the crisis down to poor economic management.

The nationwide blackout is the 12th since late 2024.